In most developed countries of the world, the cost for care of the elderly is expected to rise dramatically in the near future due to the increasing number of elderly people. Statistics show that in the U.S. alone 610,000 people will suffer a stroke for the first time every year and approximately 203,000 of them will remain permanently disabled. Worldwide, the corresponding number of disabled individuals is estimated at 5 million. For these persons, major care-giving issues include general hygiene, of which the most challenging tasks usually arise while assisting them with the elimination of urinary and fecal waste. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to focus attention on the means for caring for those who become weak or physically impaired.
Solutions to these long-term challenges are provided by assisted living facilities and nursing homes, but the costs associated with these services are essentially unaffordable by non-affluent individuals. A much preferred solution, both financially and psychologically, would be to provide effortless and attractive care by relatives in the home environment.
Weak and physically impaired individuals usually require a substantial amount of assistance to transfer from a bed to a wheelchair and from a wheelchair to a commode. Under severe conditions such assistance requires an inordinate amount of strength, which the caregiver may be physically unable or unwilling to provide.
Many designs have been provided in the prior art for impaired patient assistance. Even though those designs may be suitable for the individual purposes addressed, they are unsuitable for the purposes of the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,696 (Wernqvist et al.) discloses an articulated bed arrangement that is convertible from a bed configuration to a chair configuration and provides for an height adjustment relative to the floor. However, the arrangement does not provide for conversion to a powered wheelchair, the comfort of a real mattress when in the sleep configuration, compatible transportation to a toilet, or the pertinent positioning and seat opening for bowel movements.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,408 (Trkla). This patent discloses a powered wheelchair configurable to three positions: sitting vertically, sitting with feet elevated and lying down horizontally. However, the arrangement does not provide for the comfort of a real mattress when in the horizontal configuration and does not allow over-the-toilet positioning of the wheelchair as required for bowel movements. The patent acknowledges the requirement for transferring the impaired person from a bed to the wheelchair and vice-versa.
A further example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,409 (DiMatteo, et al.). While this patent discloses a powered wheelchair that provides compatible transportation to the toilet, pertinent positioning over the toilet and a seat opening for bowel movements, the arrangement does not provide for a bed configuration and requires transfer of the patient to a bed. This latter aspect could present significant challenges for the caregiver.
Thus, there is a need for a reconfigurable comfortable bed and powered wheelchair arrangement that can be used at home or in assisted living and nursing home environments to provide effortless transfer of an individual with impaired physical capabilities from a comfortable lying-down bed resting position to a sitting position over a standard or conventional toilet for unobstructed bowel movements, and thereafter to provide transfer of the individual back to the original lying-down bed resting position. Such an arrangement would greatly facilitate the tasks required from caregivers, with a corresponding reduction in required physical strength and/or financial burden.